1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a container for holding sterile goods. The invention especially relates to a container for acupuncture needles. The invention further relates to a sterile goods dispenser and methods for supplying sterile goods, such as especially acupuncture needles, using a sterile goods dispenser.
2. Descripition of Related Art
In numerous areas of medicine, biology and biochemistry, there is an interest in sterile working conditions, for example, during interventions on living tissue, during manipulations or measurements on cells or cell cultures or the like. Frequently used are technical adjuvants, such as, for example, syringes or scalpels, or auxiliary materials such as, for example, implant materials which are stored under sterile conditions in a protective container and are only released immediately during usage.
Blister packs which, for example, consist of a plastic shell mold and a sealing film are frequently used as sterile goods containers. Cannulas for injection or acupuncture needles, for example, are stored sterile in blister packs. Blister packs have the following disadvantages. Firstly, the packaging material can generally only be used once. Undesirable waste packaging is produced. Secondly, the removal of the sterile-packaged material from the blister pack is associated with a high manual effort and the risk of unintentionally damaging or contaminating the sterile goods. Finally, blister packs have an unfavorable ratio of pack size to size of packaged sterile goods. The packing density of the sterile goods cannot easily be increased.
In DE 200 15 353 01 a container for acupuncture needles is described for a manual acupuncture apparatus wherein a plurality of acupuncture needles affixed to a retaining ring are arranged In a sleeve-shaped container. This container certainly allows a plurality of acupuncture needles to be accommodated and allows the needles to be positioned in conjunction with the manual acupuncture apparatus without any manual contact. However, a substantial disadvantage is that the acupuncture needles in the conventional container cannot be stored protected under sterile conditions. In addition, the conventional container is not suitable for supplying individual acupuncture needles for manual positioning.
Known from U.S. 2001/0014792 is a needle magazine for syringe needles which are arranged under sterile conditions in compartments of a magazine body. For use respectively one needle is removed from the magazine with a syringe piston. The conventional magazine has a complicated structure restricted to usage with specially adapted syringes. The needle magazine is unsuitable for supplying differently shaped needles or tools.
The afore-mentioned disadvantages are not only present in the case of containers or dispensers for syringe or acupuncture needles. Rather, they also arise in all other applications where sterile goods are stored reliably protected and are to be supplied with low operating expenditure.
All references cited herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.